A Galway farmer whose cattle starved to death avoided a prison sentence yesterday, after a Circuit Court judge accepted he had been suffering from depression and was unable to cope at the time of the offence.
However, David Coffey of Newgrove, Kilrickle, who admitted he had treated his herd cruelly and did not have them properly registered, was told by Judge Raymond Groarke at Loughrea Circuit Court he will have to apply to the courts if he wants to keep livestock in the future.
Coffey was appealing an eight-month prison sentence handed down at Ballinasloe District Court some months ago for animal cruelty.
Department of Agriculture veterinary surgeon Elizabeth O'Flynn told the appeal court hearing she inspected Coffey's cattle in February 2004.
There were 60 animals in the herd and they showed signs of starvation and neglect. They were constantly bellowing for food and there was no evidence of feed or shelter. There were three carcases on the land as well as the skeletons of other animals.
Ms O'Flynn said one animal died shortly after her visit. When eventually located, Coffey agreed his cattle were in poor condition. He admitted he had not called a vet for 14 months.
Neither the tags nor the registration of the animals had been put in place and, because of the deaths and the signs of suffering among the animals, she issued a regulatory notice compelling him to address the problems.
He agreed to address the situation immediately, but on numerous subsequent visits Ms O'Flynn found little change in the animals. A number of them had to be put down. There was no water available and the feed was either scarce, of poor quality or non-existent.
On her final visit, the cattle were bellowing and distressed as they had no water on a very hot day. By that stage, a significant percentage of the herd had been lost due to neglect.
The court heard Coffey had since disposed of all his cattle and sold his land.
Judge Groarke was told by defence counsel that the accused man was very depressed, but his condition had been properly diagnosed only in recent weeks. The evidence had not been available to the District Court at the time of his conviction.
Judge Groarke said Coffey had allowed his animals to die of starvation, but accepted he had been suffering from depression at the time.
The judge suspended the sentence but bound Coffey to the peace for three years. He also prohibited him from animal husbandry without first applying to the court to establish if he was fit to care for animals, and he adjourned finalisation of the sentence to confirm the precise wording of the prohibition.